Meter hanger



Sept. 12, 1933. R H MUELLER El-AL 1,926,752

METER HANGER Filed July 8, 1932 Patented Sept. 12, 1933 PATENT OFFICE METER- HANGER Robert H.Mueller, Decatur, Ill., and Arlon V. Cushman, Washington, D. C., assignors to. Mueller Co.,` Decatur, Ill., a corporationjof Illinois Application July s, 1932. serial No. 621,484

s claims. (c1. 285-3) The present invention relates to a meter hanger and, more particularly, to a meter hanger the parts of which are adaptable to correct faulty alignment of the pipes to be connected to the meter. n

Difficulties are frequently encountered in installing gas meters and providing for their sup- 1 ply pipe and house service pipe are not exactly` parallel or properly spaced, when their ends are 2 brought into alignment with the rigid meter angle with respect to `each other and also with respect to the spuds and if no provision is made at the meter supporting bar for this angular'relation, the pipes held in the -bar will'be underfa considerable strain. This strain may cause distortion or breakage of Vthe' threads of the joints between the various connections in the` piping and leakage of gas may result. 1 f v The principal object of the presentinvention is to produce a meter-hanger which will permit of a rigid and leakfproof connectionof the piping to the meter, regardless of whether the various pipes are exactly aligned. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide a meter hanger and a connecting element associated therewith which are adjustable with respect to each other so that the pipingmay be rigidly and securely clamped in the meter barV regardless of whether the pipes are in exact aligne ment. l. 'i

Still another object of the invention is to provide a meter hanger and a connecting element rassociated' therewith which are so constructed that the pipe connection may be loosely supported inthe meter hanger during the operation of connecting the (meter to the servicey and supply pipes, thereby facilitating this operation. A further object of the invention is to provide 50 a meter supporting bar of very simple construction and vone which will be relatively inexpensive, and, moreover, to provide a structurewhich may be applied in a very short period of timeand by a workman who need Ynot be particularly skilled. The invention is particularly characterized by the absence of the so-called sleeve connections spuds, the pipes themselves will beata slightl V18 threaded .upon the latter and a bent or offset which are well known in the art and which require a lvery exact Iseatingbetween the sleeve and the opening in the bar. In this priorl art construction, when the pipes are not in perfect alignment, the severestrains to which thehanger is subjected cannot be absorbed and breakage of the threaded ends of the service pipes quite frequently' results. Y

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a front elevation showing the meter supported bythe hanger of vour invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation showing the manner in which the supporting bar is fixed Yto the? pipes, one end of theV supporting bar and the piping at that end beingshown in section and the piping at the other end of the bar'being turned with respect to the Figure 1 showing; and

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the `line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral indicates the meter provided withan inlet pipe or spud 11 towhich the supply pipe 12 is connected by means of acoupling or connection 13 threaded upon the supply pipeand a couplingnipple 14 which joins the lower end of the connection 13 and the upper end of the meter inlet pipe 1l.VV The outlet pipe or spud 15 of the meter is connected to the service pipe 17 by a coupling or connection coupling nipple 19 threadedly connected tothe connection 18 and having a swivel connection 20 withtheu outlet pipe 15. The swivel connection includes a compressible washer 20'.

rIhe connections 13 and 18 are provided with a 9o contracted portion 21 intermediate their lengths, the inclined walls 22 of the contracted portions preferably being smooth or straight as shown in Figure 2. The contracted portions 21 are circular in cross-section through any point in their 5 length. The outer surfaces of the ends 23 of the connections 13 and 18are iiattened to be hexagonal in cross-section, so that they may be engaged by a wrench.

The meter supporting bar 24 is supported upon the connections 13 and v18 and may be formed of either pressed or cast metal. The bar 24 is provided with substantially V-shaped horizontally offset portions 25 adjacent each end thereof and Y V-shaped brackets 26 are secured to they bar 24 opposite each of the offset portions 25 to provide clamps 27 at each end of the bar which engage the connections 13 and 18. The brackets 26 are connected to the bar 24 by means of bolts 28 extendthrough aligned apertures 29 in laterally projectfslightly with respect to the bar.

ing ears formed upon the brackets 26. As is shown in Figure 2 of the drawing, the upper andV lower edges 31 of the clamps 27 engage the inclined walls 22 of the connections 13 and 13.

A hanger 32 is supported from the bolts 28 as shown in Figure 3.

The method of installing a meter to be supported by our meter hanger is as follows: 1n order to connect the meter 10 with the supply and service pipes, the connection 13 is threaded upon the supply pipe 12 and the connection v18 is threaded ,upon the service pipe 17, the bar 24 being loosely supported uponthe connections 13 and 18. The nipples la and 19, threaded to the inlet and outlet pipes or spuds fixed to the meter 10, are then threaded into the connections 13 and 13 to the desired extent and the brackets 26 of the clamps 27 are then tightly clamped about the connections 13 and 13. Any misalignment oi the pipes v12 and 1'? will be accommodated by the adjust-ment which can be obtained between the clamps 27 and the bar24 with respect to the connections 13 and 18, i. e., the connections may tilt Y Misalignment may also be corrected to some extent in the swivel connection 2), the compressiblewasher 20 permitting the nipple 19 to be connected to spud 15 at a slight angle.

Because of the substantially rectangular forma- 'tion of the clamps 27 whichpontact with the transversely circular and inclined walls 22 of the connections 13 and 18, as well as because of the fact that the walls of the clamps are vertically straight while the'walls of the connections are.

concaved, the bar can be adjusted with respect to the connections to extend in a truly horizontal plane and rigidly support the meter in a level position. Since the bar is freely adjustable with Arespect to the connections, no undue strains can be set up at any pointin the piping to the meter and there can be no possibility of any leaka-ge'at any of the'joints. As the bar canv be rigidly attached to the connectionslS and 18, all' possibility of the i meter swinging with reference to the connections is obviated. Y

The arrangement of our meter hanger and the Y connecting element whereby the meterrhanger ment or elements land 18 during the'pre operation of connecting the meter to the piping may beloosely supported upon the connecting eleiminary is particularly advantageous, in that it enables all of the various piping and connection elements to be loosely connected and loosely supported in a position substantially identical with that which they will subsequently occupy with respect to each other. With the parts in this position, the ind staller may readily vary the various parts With respect to each other to obtain the exact nnal and rigid adjustment which is desired.

' We claim:

l. A meter hanger comprising a bar member having at one end thereof means for engaging a conduit'element and provided at the other end with pipe connection engaging means, said engaging means providing a substantially rectangular aperture through the bar member, and a pipe connection adapted to be held by said engaging means,y said pipe connection being substantially circular in cross-section and having a contracted. portion intermediate its ends of greater length than the width of the engaging means, said contracted portion having inwardly inclined walls adapted to be engaged by said engaging means intermediate the ends thereof.

-2. A meter hanger comprising a bar member having at one end thereof means for engaging a conduit element and provided at the other end with pipe connection engaging means, said engag ing with the offset portions of said bar to form rectangular'pipe connection engaging means, and pipe connections adapted to be held by said engaging means, each pipe'connection being substantially circular incross-section and having a contracted portion intermediate its ends, said contracted portion having inwardly inclined walls adapted to be engaged by said engaging means.

. ROBERT'H. MUELLER.

ARLON V. CUSHMAN. 

